Narrator: A woman in her mid-thirties named Janelle is involuntarily hospitalized for a manic episode. She is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and put on a heavy regimen of mood-stabilizing medication. Yet, something feels wrong. The diagnosis doesn't fully capture her experience, and the medication leaves her feeling numb. It’s only when she finds a holistic psychiatrist that the true culprit is discovered: Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune condition where the body attacks its own thyroid gland. By changing her diet and lifestyle to heal her thyroid, Janelle’s anxiety decreases, and she never has another manic episode. Her story poses a startling question: what if anxiety isn't always what we think it is? What if it’s not just in our heads, but a signal from a body in distress?

In the book Anxiety Rx, Dr. Romie Mushtaq explores this very idea, arguing that much of what we label as anxiety is a physiological response to the imbalances of modern life. The book provides a holistic prescription for calming the body and quieting the mind by first addressing these physical roots, clearing the way to understand the deeper messages anxiety might be trying to send.

Narrator: The book's central premise is that not all anxiety is created equal. Dr. Mushtaq introduces a critical distinction between two types: "false anxiety" and "true anxiety." False anxiety is not a character flaw or a psychological disorder in the traditional sense; it’s the mind’s interpretation of a physiological stress signal. It’s the brain creating a worried narrative to explain a physical sensation.

The author uses a simple example to illustrate this: waking up with a hangover. The physical body is in a state of stress—dehydrated, inflamed, and exhausted. The mind, a natural meaning-maker, scrambles to explain this feeling of unease. It doesn't say, "I feel this way because I had too much wine." Instead, it might latch onto worries about a work project, a relationship conflict, or the state of the world. The anxiety feels real, but its source is physiological, not existential. This is false anxiety, and it’s often triggered by modern lifestyle factors like blood sugar crashes, sleep deprivation, or gut inflammation.

True anxiety, on the other hand, is a deeper, more purposeful signal. It’s the soul’s internal compass, an alert that something in our life is out of alignment with our core values or purpose. It’s the unease that tells us a job is soul-crushing, a relationship is unhealthy, or we are betraying our own needs. By learning to differentiate between the physiological noise of false anxiety and the meaningful signal of true anxiety, individuals can begin to address the root causes of their distress more effectively.

Narrator: Much of the book is dedicated to identifying the primary drivers of "false anxiety," which are deeply embedded in modern life. The author argues that our bodies were not designed for our current environment of chronic stress, poor nutrition, and constant digital stimulation.

Sleep is presented as one of the most powerful and accessible treatments for anxiety. However, our natural sleep cycles are constantly disrupted. The author tells the story of Travis, a software engineer in New York City suffering from severe insomnia. Despite trying various therapies, nothing worked. Suspecting his environment was the problem, his psychiatrist suggested a three-day camping trip, completely free of artificial light after sunset. For the first time in years, Travis slept soundly. The experience reset his confused circadian rhythm, demonstrating the profound impact of our light environment on sleep and anxiety.

Technology is another major contributor, a phenomenon the author calls "Techxiety." The boundaryless workplace, the pressure of social media, and the constant influx of information create a state of perpetual alert. This is compounded by physical factors; the posture of staring at a screen, with a forward-hunched neck, can physiologically signal stress to the brain.

Finally, the book explores "hanxiety"—anxiety driven by hunger and blood sugar instability. The author shares the case of Priya, a patient who suffered from frequent panic attacks. By examining the patterns, her doctor realized the attacks often occurred after she ate something sweet or missed a meal. The simple hack of eating a spoonful of almond butter at regular intervals to stabilize her blood sugar dramatically reduced her panic attacks, showing the direct link between diet and anxiety.

Narrator: Anxiety Rx powerfully argues that "physical health is mental health," and nowhere is this more evident than in the gut. The book explains the "cytokine hypothesis," which posits that inflammation in the body is a major driver of mood disorders. When the body is inflamed, it sends out signaling proteins called cytokines, which can cross the blood-brain barrier and activate the brain's fear and threat-detection centers. The author puts it bluntly: "fire in the gut, fire in the brain."

This connection is illustrated through the story of Joni, a forty-two-year-old woman suffering from a host of issues, including anxiety, bloating, acne, and migraines. Her symptoms pointed to a problem in her digestive tract. As she worked with a practitioner to heal her gut by changing her diet, her physical symptoms began to improve, and so did her anxiety. She noticed a direct correlation: when she ate foods that inflamed her gut, her anxiety would return. Joni's journey shows that the gut is not just a digestive organ but a critical component of our immune and nervous systems, communicating directly with the brain via the vagus nerve. Healing the gut, therefore, can be a primary strategy for calming the mind.

Narrator: The book dedicates a significant section to the unique hormonal challenges women face, which are often misdiagnosed as purely psychological issues. It highlights a long history of medical bias where women's physical symptoms are dismissed as "hysteria" or "just anxiety."

Thyroid dysfunction, for example, is extremely common in women and its symptoms—fatigue, depression, anxiety—can easily be mistaken for a mood disorder, as was the case with Janelle in the introduction. The book also explores the profound impact of the menstrual cycle and the pill on mental health. It tells the story of Naomi, a woman on multiple medications for depression and anxiety. After years of treatment, she discovered the root of her anxiety was hormonal birth control. When she stopped taking the pill, her anxiety vanished. When she later got a progesterone-releasing IUD, it returned. Only after removing the IUD did her anxiety resolve for good. Her experience underscores how synthetic hormones can cause inflammation, deplete nutrients, and disrupt the microbiome, all of which can manifest as anxiety.

Narrator: Managing anxiety isn't just about avoiding stressors; it's about dealing with the stress that is an unavoidable part of life. The book explains that humans, unlike animals, often fail to "complete the stress cycle." When faced with a threat, our bodies flood with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to prepare for fight or flight. After the threat passes, this energy needs to be discharged.

Animals do this instinctively by shaking or running. Humans, however, often suppress this response. We sit in traffic fuming, get a stressful email and hold the tension in our shoulders, or have a difficult conversation and swallow our feelings. This unresolved energy gets stuck in the body, leading to chronic anxiety. The book argues that we must find ways to signal to our bodies that the threat has passed and we are safe. This can be achieved through movement, self-expression, and connection. The author describes a practice of "shamanic shaking," where one puts on music and simply shakes their body, allowing it to release stored muscular tension and stuck emotions. This physical discharge is a powerful way to complete the stress cycle and return the nervous system to a state of calm.

Narrator: After addressing the physiological static of "false anxiety," the book turns to the purpose of "true anxiety." This is the anxiety that serves as a "golden compass," guiding us toward a more authentic and fulfilling life. It’s a signal that we are living in a way that is misaligned with our deepest needs and values.

This concept is brought to life through the story of So-young, a woman who grew up with conditional love from her parents and ended up in a marriage with a narcissistic man who mirrored that dynamic. Her constant anxiety was a symptom of this deep misalignment. Medication like Paxil numbed the feeling, but it didn't solve the underlying problem. It was only when she began to taper off the medication that she could feel the full range of her emotions, including a righteous indignation at her husband's behavior. Her anxiety was telling her something vital: she needed to advocate for herself. By listening to this signal, she began setting boundaries and standing up for herself, which ultimately transformed her marriage and resolved her anxiety. Her story shows that true anxiety, when listened to, can be a catalyst for profound personal growth.

Narrator: The single most important takeaway from Anxiety Rx is that anxiety is not a personal failing or a simple chemical imbalance, but a complex and meaningful signal from an interconnected mind-body system. Dr. Mushtaq's work reframes the conversation, urging us to see anxiety not as an enemy to be defeated, but as a messenger to be understood. The first step is to calm the physiological static of "false anxiety" by tending to our physical health—our sleep, our diet, our technology use, and our stress levels. Only then can we create the inner quiet needed to hear the whispers of "true anxiety," the deeper wisdom guiding us toward a life of purpose and authenticity.

The book leaves us with a powerful challenge: to shift our perspective from asking, "What's wrong with me?" to courageously asking, "What is my anxiety trying to tell me?" By learning to listen, we can transform our relationship with anxiety from one of fear and resistance to one of curiosity and growth, ultimately finding our way back to ourselves.